Description
The World Library Foundation is the world’s largest aggregator of eBooks.
Founded in 1996, the World Library Foundation is a global coordinated effort to
preserve and disseminate historical books, classic works of literature, serials, bibliographies,
dictionaries, encyclopedias, and other heritage works in a number of languages
and countries around the world. World Library Foundation is a IRC 501(c)(4) Organization,
organized Not for profit, but operated exclusively for the promotion of social welfare.
Our mission is to serve and aid the public, students, and educators, by providing the
world's most complete collection of electronic books, documents, and articles online,
as well as offer a variety of services and resources that support and strengthen the
instructional programs of education, elementary through post-baccalaureate studies.
Access to the complete holdings of the World Library Foundation is open to the general public for personal use, members receive an eLibrary Card allowing them unlimited access to our complete holdings.

Excerpt
Franklin D. Roosevelt - “The public library is a nation’s act of believing in the capacity of its own people so to learn from the past that they can gain in judgement in creating their own future.”
The traditional library is changing, fast. Paper books,and the multi-level structures that house them, are becoming a thing of the past while digital books, eBooks, pave the way for a new future of instant, worldwide accessibility to knowledge. The World Public Library is at the forefront of this movement.
I. History
A. Purpose of the Library
1. Origins
Hi, I’m Mia with the World Public Library and I would like to invite you on a journey through the library’s past present and future. Along the way we will explore what has made the library such a unique and important place historically and what the World Public Library is doing today to make the library more useful and vital than ever before.
It’s impossible to think about the progress mankind has made without calculating the role that the library has played. Any city that has had a great impact on learning has had a great library behind it, fueling that learning.
Libraries date back to 1900 BC in the Sumerian city of Nippur. Nippur’s library held tens of thousands of inscribed clay tablets. These tablets themselves dated as far back as 2600 BC and included mathematical tables and almanacs.
The first great library was founded in 290 B.C. by the Ptolemy dynasty in Alexandria, Egypt. The Library of Alexandria, as it came to be known, housed between a quarter of a million and half a million papyrus scrolls.
The library tried to acquire copies of all writings, sending agents far and wide to acquire texts. Scrolls were bought, copied and stolen. Boats visiting Alexandria were required to lend any writings on board to the library for the purpose of copying; some were returned.
Tragically, the Library of Alexandria was destroyed by mobs, sometime in the 3rd or 4th century A.D.
As impressive as these libraries were, neither allowed access to the general public. The great renaissance libraries that followed were much the same; private collections for the wealthy and intellectual elite.
The first truly public, lending library was founded by Benjamin Franklin in 1731.
This library allowed anyone to borrow, member or not, but required that non-members put down collateral in the event they decided not to return their book.
Today, what makes the library so distinctive is that all its resources at all of its branches can be used by anyone, for free. It was Franklin D. Roosevelt who said the public library is a nation’s act of “Believing in the capacity of its own people so to learn from the past that they can gain in judgement in creating their own future.”
John Guagliardo the founder of the World Public Library has said similarly that all the wisdom of our ancestors has been preserved in books and written works and saved for future generations. His mission and the mission of the World Public Library is to create free instant global access to all recorded knowledge.
B. Move from paper to digital
MIA: But what happens when the materials in a library become more fit for a museum? And what does a library do when it takes a building the size of the Smithsonian (gestures around her) to hold all of its materials? Mark Adams is the public relations coordinator for the World Public Library.
Mark: All of the books in your local library branch are used and handled and torn. Spilled on. Regardless of how careful patrons are with the materials there will be accidents and there will be wear and tear over time. So it follows that most libraries have a preservation department. An entire department of people devoted to repairing and maintaining the materials in the library.
Even so, there are certain materials that simply cannot be handled. Thomas Jefferson’s version of the Declaration of Independence for example, or a rare copy of the Gutenberg Bible, cannot be handled or read by patrons. They’re simply too precious as artifacts.
Another problem libraries around the world encounter is a lack of space. There are too many materials and not enough room to store them all. The New York Public Library main branch for example has seven floors of stacks; all full of books. You can’t go to the books the books must be retrieved for you using a pneumatic tube system.
The library is always trying to balance between preservation and access. The irony is that the more people who have access to the book, the further the book deteriorates. But when you try to preserve the book you end up taking away access. The solution is eBooks. High resolution preservation that can also be accessed by anyone and everyone.
MIA: With the advent of digital technology and the prevalence of the internet there began a new era in the history of the library. The eBook. Why use resources preparing and preserving works to be handled when you can create digital versions that don’t need maintenance and can be used by millions of people simultaneously?
Every book in this (gestures around her) library, can be accessed on a single device. Suddenly the need for more storage space disappears as well.
Mark: We don’t have a preservation department. We don’t need one. We don’t have building after building full of stacks either. You can access and read Thomas Jefferson’s draft of the Declaration of Independence or a copy of the Gutenberg Bible. You can peruse any one of thousands of copies of classic works with author’s notes in the margins. You can even study the ancient cuneform script of the Sumerians. We provide access to the Dead Sea Scrolls and classic Sheet Music. Because our books are in digital form, we don’t have limitations on the usage of rare items.
II. World Public Library
A. History
Mark: We started, in 1994, as a small online resource for teachers and students. In 1996 it became clear that there was a huge demand for free digital access to books and we founded the World Public Library. Since then we have founded dozens of branches catering to the specific needs of different communities. All based on the idea behind the original public library: Anyone can access the materials and do so for free.
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Online retailers charge an average of $32.41 for a single book. The average reader in America reads 15 books every year. An average cost of $486.15 when purchased from online retailers.
Now think of the graduate student in America. They read an approximately 100 books each year. An average annual cost of around $3,241.00 for those 100 books. These same books can be found at our library for $8.95.
1. World Public Library Collections
Mark: We are rewarding curiousity. For everyone. This is not a private renaissance library. This is a public library. That’s what we’re trying to retain in the digital age.
The difference is, it used to be that you walked into a library and what was available to you was whatever you saw on the shelves.
It wasn’t until 20 years ago that libraries came up with a system called inter-library lending where you could order something from another library and have it delivered to the branch closest to you.
Now essentially what we have created at the World Public Library is the world’s largest consortium of inter-library lending branches of digital materials. The digital resources available to us stem from over 6,000 libraries around the world and total more than 3 million books. And we’re adding books at the rate of 100,000 every month.
MIA: The librarians at the World Public Library are constantly busy collecting and making available to readers, the library's vast collection of knowledge: over 3 million books, 100,000 audio files and 100,000 pieces of sheet music.
Mark: Our collections are built on the idea that they will be used to learn and then create new knowledge. Generate wisdom. There’s this wealth of human knowledge available and you just sign in and you take it. No borrowing, no late fees. The books are yours and they are free.
MIA: Among the largest collections in the World Public Library are the American, European and Canadian collections.
The American Libraries Collection consists of books from libraries around the country. Scanned texts from libraries across America have all been gathered here in one collection. Each book is made from scans of the originals, archived in regional library facilities. Popular, rare, and brittle books have all been digitally re-mastered.
The European Library offers access to the resources of 47 European national libraries. The resources include books, magazines, journals, audio recordings and other material.
The Canadian Libraries Collection is a collection of books from libraries across the country. The books have all been gathered here in one collection. Each book here was found on shelves of libraries in Canada or archived in regional library facilities. The books were carefully scanned from originals. The selection process was based on the popularity, rareness, and need to preserve brittle books. All the scanned books have been converted and digitally re-mastered for online access.
2. Search Engine
MIA: The World Public Library is designed to connect people more efficiently with the resources they need. The founders of the library wanted the website to be easily navigable. The architects of the website designed every detail with the user experience in mind.
Mark: When the website was created,a real world experience was prioritized. We have digital books so it follows we would have digital bookshelves. Every patron has their own personal bookshelf to place their book on and return to later. Once you find the book you want, you don’t have to find it again.
MIA: They also wanted the books to be easily located. Think of how much time a student can save when he or she can search an entire library of books in a matter of seconds.
Mark: When I was in college, I had to write a thesis paper and I spent weeks inside big public libraries shuffling through card catalogs and microfilm. Only to find the wrong books and the wrong microfilm. The whole experience left me sick, literally ill from the dust and being inside all the time. That was what? 20 years ago? And I dreamed that one day there would be a way to access the materials I need at the push of a button. And that's what's happening today at the World Public Library. Can you imagine having the technology of a Google search engine built from into the search engine in a library? How amazing would that be? Well, it took us 15 years to do it but here we are. We have full text search technology built into our library. You can search all the content of every single book we have. If the word you search appears on any page of any book we have, the search engine will find it and bring it right to you. WIth the click of a button. It’s one thing to have vast numbers of materials. It’s another thing entirely to be able to find the materials you need.
MIA: The World Public Library’s advanced search tool uses a full text search function which searches for a specific word or phrase by looking for it inside every one of their millions of books and articles.
3. Device Compatibility
Mark: All of our books on the site are compatible with any computer, any smart phone any tablet or mobile device on the market. You can transfer your book onto the device in just a few seconds and then take it with you on your device just like you would a paper book.
4. Cloud Library
Mark: And in fact, you don’t even need to download the book because with our Cloud Library service, available to anyone, you can place your book on your bookshelf and then use it on your device wherever you are. It’s incredibly simple.
5. Tutorials.
Mark: The video tutorials that we make available are entirely comprehensive for someone just learning how to use the website or for someone just learning how to use technology. You don’t need to know how to use a computer to use our site because these videos are just like having someone in your home, walking you through not just the website but how to use a computer. We are able to train anyone to be computer literate and access the knowledge they want through modern technology. It’s a service we feel is in line with what the library has always been about. Increasing knowledge within communities. But now we’re able to do it on a global scale.
I'm always curious about who is using our library, where they are and what it makes them think or dream about because it's such an inspiring place.
MIA: The World Public Library’s main branch is only one facet of an extraordinarily innovative institution.
III. World eBook Library, World Heritage Encyclopedia, Noah's Archive
A. The World eBook Library
MIA: The World eBook Library is a world class research branch of the World Public Library and was created in _____ when it became clear there was a need for easy access to digital resources for academic research.
CINDY: The Academic Collections at the World eBook Library are comprised of curated eBooks from every discipline or field of study taught at the college or university level. These collections are full of millions of Primary and secondary sources and also our Research Collection which has many encyclopedias and other Tertiary Sources.
They are all easily searchable, downloadable and compatible with mobile devices.
B. The World Heritage Encyclopedia
CINDY: We are also responsible for the curation of the World Heritage Encyclopedia. The void that the World Heritage Encyclopedia fills is considerable. Nowhere else can you find a dynamic digital encyclopedia, always current, that is searchable and portable. There are more than 5 million articles you can search and download.
Say you want to browse for information or explore your cultural heritage. Now you can do so at your own leisure with the confidence that what you are reading is current.
We learn because we research things. We look into them. And the combination of the World eBook Library’s Academic collections with the World Heritage Library’s articles provides a way to do this efficiently. The collections are so comprehensive that you find not only the specific material you’re researching but everything else you need in order to understand that material.
C. Noah’s Archive
CINDY: The greatest problem we face today is the loss of materials before we have the opportunity to digitize them. It’s almost as if we are in a frantic race to preserve these rare and precious documents before they are destroyed by deterioration, overuse, theft. It has been estimated that 5 million one of a kind books, manuscripts and scrolls have been lost just this century to war, natural disasters, book burnings, riots. Between the bombings of the Baghdad libraries and the civil riots in Egypt and the libraries lost in Hurricane Katrina. There were hundreds of thousands of one of a kind documents lost. Those were just a few recent examples. What we lost in the first and second World Wars is even more tragic. There are so many worldwide threats to these artifacts of knowledge we saw the need to create an “Ark of knowledge” if you will, called the Noah’s Archive.
MIA: The Noah’s Archive Project is acquiring a digital facsimile of each and every written artifact in history and storing them in an online perpetual access archive. A digital vault. Accessible by anyone, anywhere in the world.
CINDY: We’ve moved much of our material into an actual underground bunker. Formerly operated by the US military. All of our books are stored in this sub-terranian vault, operated by Gary Weller in Kaneohe Hawaii. We have so much unique material. So many artifacts of knowledge that everything we digitize or acquire must be preserved for posterity. It’s imperative and one of the great callings of our generation.
IV. Game Library, Comic Book Library, Photography Library
A. Game Library & Comic Book Library
MIA: On the other end of the spectrum is a place without many books at all.
SAM: People think of libraries as a place where it’s primarily books but we have prioritized the gathering of knowledge and art and history in any medium and any form.
We have gathered avante garde and counter cultural items. Anticipating their future importance. 70,000 graphics novel, comic book and manga titles. 2,000 video games you can actually play and experience. It’s interactive.
And Video games will be looked back on as revolutionary. After all many people thought the beat poets work was to be shunned and ignored and now their works are highly valued. We collect information and knowledge. Period. Not just knowledge we like or agree with or even understand at the time.
We’re also responsible for the curation of the Photography Library where we’ve gathered more than 85,000 photographs of everything imaginable. We have thousands of photos from NOAA of underwater ocean habitats. We have high altitude photographs of geological formations and satellite photos from Nasa. Hubble space telescope photographs of remote constellations. You can peruse the photos, you can download them and use them however you choose. It is a resource for documentation and creativity and inspiration.
V. School eBook Library
A. Children’s Collection
MIA: The inspiration and education of young minds has often been at the heart of what libraries have tried to accomplish throughout their existence and this remains true at the World Library’s, School eBook Library branch today.
SARAH: We have made this a place where kids can thrive. We try to choose books that are fun and engaging for children. Children have to know how to read to achieve in this world. They have to get information out of print and now instead of trekking down to the local library these kids can access books anywhere. And learn to love reading.
We have a children’s literature collection of more than 1500 books. Many of the books are considered all time classics. They are searchable and downloadable. A child can read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn at home or Aesop’s Fables in the car on his mom’s iPad.
B. Wally Videos & Kahn Academy
SARAH: As early as _______ we began to see the important role video would play in the motivation of children’s learning. And that’s what encouraged us to not only gather children’s books and reading materials but to go out and create materials that inspire children to read. We’ve shot videos of performances such as Wally Amos reading popular fiction books to children and made those available for anyone.
We also have almost 4000 video books on a wide variety of subjects available for children or anyone to view. There are math and reading lessons. Scientific concepts are taught. It’s quite comprehensive and we’ve found these are popular and useful with home schooled children, children who are being tutored or adults who want to supplement their knowledge. Curious people who may not have time to visit their local library. These video books are perfect for those people.
VI. Author’s Community
A. Project Gutenberg & The Author’s Community
MIA: Among those who visit the World Public Library and its branches are the future authors and creators of the world.
Mark: When you visit the World Library you get the sense that something important is happening. That the gathering of all this knowledge must inspire important work. That this is a place where brilliant ideas are born and where brilliant minds come to fuel brilliant thoughts.
It was in that spirit that we created the Project Gutenberg Self Publishing Press; which is a revolutionary addition to the traditional library system. Project Gutenberg Self Publishing Press is a place where you can publish your own book. You can become a published author free.
After you upload your book it is made immediately available through the Cloud Library service. Then anyone, anywhere in the world, visiting one of our branches where your book is relevant, can read your book and leave comments and feedback for you as an author. You in turn can find the work of other authors in your position and read their work.
It’s a great way to get your work out into the public eye without giving away all your rights as an author to a traditional publisher. You’re publishing your work at the library. But not your local library, the World’s Library.
MIA: Today, the modern public library is not across town or even down the street. It’s in your home, in your car, it’s here or wherever you want it to be.
ON SCREEN “The only thing that you absolutely have to know, is the location of the library.”